Virginia routs Hokies to stay perfect
No. 4 Virginia 81, No. 9 Virginia Tech 59: De’Andre Hunter scored 21 points and Ty Jerome had 14 and a career-high 12 assists as host Virginia (16-0, 4-0 ACC) started fast and routed Virginia Tech (14-2, 3-1) on Tuesday night.
Kyle Guy added 15 points for the Cavaliers, who never trailed in the first meeting of the programs in which both were ranked in the top 10. Virginia also remained one of two unbeaten teams in the country along with Michigan, which was idle.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 19 points and Ahmed Hill 14 to lead Virginia Tech, which was seeking the first 15-1 start in program history. The Hokies also hoped to repeat last year’s 61-60 overtime victory at John Paul Jones Arena, but they trailed by double figures after 12 minutes and never got within single digits the rest of the way.
Virginia could hardly miss in the first half, making 10 of 14 3-point tries, including one by Kihei Clark at the buzzer to make it 44-22. The Hokies, meanwhile, were just 2 for 9 from deep and shot 35 percent (7-for-20) from the field compared to 68 percent (17-for-25) for the Cavaliers in the half.
Virginia finished 13 for 23 from 3-point range and shot 58.5 percent overall (31-for-53).
No. 3 Tennessee 106, Arkansas 87: Lamonte’ Turner and Jordan Bowden combined to score 40 points off the bench, and host Tennessee (15-1, 4-0 SEC) whipped Arkansas (10-6, 1-3) for its 11th consecutive victory.
Turner scored 21 points and hit 6 of 8 shots. Bowden was 6-of-7 shooting and 5 of 6 from 3-point range en route to 19 points, and Tennessee’s bench outscored Arkansas’ 50-23.
Tennessee last won 11 straight in the 2007-08 season. Tennessee is off to its fastest start since that 2007-08 campaign, when the Vols won 16 of their first 17.
Grant Williams scored 18 points for Tennessee and made all 14 of his free-throw attempts. Admiral Schofield scored all 17 of his points in the second half, and Kyle Alexander added 12 points.
Isaiah Joe scored 23 points, Mason Jones had 18, Reggie Chaney 11 and Daniel Gafford 10 for Arkansas.
Arkansas’ five losses before Tuesday had been decided by a total of 19 points. The Razorbacks’ largest margin of defeat all season was six.
Yet they never had a chance in this one.
The game wasn’t even five minutes old when Tennessee started a 14-0 run for a 20-5 margin. Tennessee maintained a double-digit edge the rest of the way.
Tennessee built a 55-34 halftime advantage and led by 30 during the second half. No. 10 Nevada 72, Boise State 71: Cody Martin hit a 3-pointer with 4.5 seconds remaining to help Nevada beat Boise State.
Boise State (8-9, 3-1) had a chance to win it but Justinian Jessup’s long 3-point heave at the buzzer fell short.
Nevada seemed to have the game on cruise control early in the second half, never allowing the Broncos to get any closer than seven points, but the Wolf Pack (17-1, 4-1) remained in constant foul trouble. Starters Trey Porter and Caleb Martin were on the bench with four fouls with just over nine minutes remaining in the game.
No. 12 Kentucky 69, Georgia 49: Ashton Hagans silenced a hostile crowd by scoring a season-high 23 points, leading Kentucky (13-3, 3-1 SEC) to a victory at Georgia (9-7, 1-3).
The Wildcats pulled away in the second half for their third straight victory.
Hagans, a freshman who initially committed to Georgia out of high school but wound up signing with Kentucky, was booed by the sellout crowd at Stegeman Coliseum each time he touched the ball. It sure didn’t seem to bother him.
No. 13 North Carolina 75, Notre Dame 69: Nassir Little scored all 11 of his points in the final 11 minutes, and No. 13 North Carolina beat Notre Dame.
Coby White had 17 points while Luke Maye added 14 points and 10 rebounds and Cameron Johnson finished with 11 points for the Tar Heels (13-4, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference). UNC used a late 12-1 run to bounce back from its most lopsided home loss under Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams.
Prentiss Hubb scored 18 points, John Mooney had 16 points and 19 rebounds, and D.J. Harvey added 15 points for the Fighting Irish (11-6, 1-3). Hubb put Notre Dame up 58-57 with a layup with just under seven minutes remaining, but the Irish missed their next six shots while North Carolina took control. No. 15 Marquette 74, Georgetown 71: Sam Hauser scored a career-high 31 points, Theo John tied a careerhigh with 14 points, and Marquette held on to beat Georgetown despite Markus Howard – the nation’s fourth leading scorer – playing just three scoreless minutes due to lower back tightness.
John blocked Georgetown’s James Akinjo’s drive with four seconds left as Marquette (15-3, 4-1) won its fourth straight game.
Georgetown (12-6, 2-3) was led by Mac McClung with 24 points while Jessie Govan added 14 points and nine rebounds. McClung’s desperation 3-point heave from half court was off the mark. No. 16 Buffalo 88, Western Michigan 79: Jeremy Harris had 22 points and 11 rebounds, and Buffalo (16-1, 4-0 Mid-American Conference) held off host Western Michigan (6-11, 0-4).
Nick Perkins added 14 points for the Bulls, who trailed by 11 in the first half and struggled to shake free of WMU until the very end.
Buffalo had won its first three MAC games by a combined 70 points.
Josh Davis scored 24 points for WMU.
Wake Forest 71, No. 17 N.C. State 67: Freshman Jaylen Hoard had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and host Wake Forest (8-8, 1-3 ACC) blew a 22-point lead before recovering in time to top North Carolina State (14-3, 2-2).
Graduate transfer Torry Johnson added 11 points for the Demon Deacons. That included a critical jumper with 1:19 left in a one-point game, along with two free throws with 13.3 seconds left that helped the Demon Deacons (barely) survive a wild night in Winston-Salem.
Wake Forest led 42-27 at halftime, and then 51-29 with a flurry out of the break. But the Wolfpack made a move with 15 straight points to get back in it, and then fought all the way back to tie it at 58 on Devon Daniels’ floater with 7:46 left. LSU 83, No. 18 Mississippi 69: Tremont Waters scored 20 points, Kavell Bigby-Williams had 14 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks, and LSU beat Mississippi.
LSU (13-3, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) used an early 8-0 run in the second half to take a 48-39 lead. The Tigers maintained a healthy advantage from that point, playing tight defense and forcing several turnovers.
Waters also had nine assists, and Skylar Mays scored 14 points. LSU has won six straight. No. 24 Mississippi State 71, Florida 68: Quinndary Weatherspoon converted a three-point play with 3.4 seconds left to lift host Mississippi State (13-3, 1-2 SEC) over Florida (9-7, 1-3).
Weatherspoon drove the lane and was fouled by Kevarrius Hayes while sinking the winning layup. Weatherspoon finished with nine points.
Lamar Peters scored all 16 of his points in the first half, and Tyson Carter added 12 for Mississippi State.